MOSCOW, April 20 (Reuters) – A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse sparked a fire and killed at least one person, Russian officials said on Monday, only hours after a blaze was extinguished following a similar attack on April 16.
One of Russia’s major southern ports, Tuapse is an oil product export hub that also handles dry bulk cargo, such as coal and fertiliser. In addition, it is home to a major oil refinery of the same name owned by Rosneft.
“Tuapse was subjected to another massive drone attack,” Veniamin Kondratiev, governor of the Krasnodar region, said on messaging app Telegram. “A fire occurred at the seaport.”
Kondratiev said one man was killed at the port and another injured, while debris from drones damaged several city buildings, ranging from a kindergarten and primary school to a church and residential apartment block.
Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure in the past month as U.S.-brokered peace talks have stalled with Washington more focused on the war in Iran.
Tuapse’s local prosecutor’s office said transport infrastructure was damaged at the port, while RIA Novosti news agency said state-controlled schools cancelled lessons on Monday.
Russia’s defence ministry said 112 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over the country overnight.
Tuapse’s port terminals export naphtha, fuel oil, vacuum gasoil and high-sulphur diesel produced by the local refinery as well as oil processing plants in the Samara region and Rosneft’s Saratov refinery on the shore of the river Volga.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Kirsten Donovan)
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